Where should the line be drawn in seeking to free hostges?

No one dares say it out loud. But hopes are rising that some or all of the 15 hostages (nine of them American) being held by terrorists in Lebanon may at last be freed. Not tomorrow; a senior British diplomat predicts that the process of arranging a release will require "months rather than weeks." But he quickly adds that freedom might be expected in "months rather than years." Subject, that is, to one gargantuan if: the terrorists and their mentors in the government of Iran for once must refrain from posing financial or political ransom demands that would force Washington, London...